Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Aiming to return for SEA series
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Burleson (wrist) is slated to return from the 10-day injured list at some point during the Cardinals' three-game road series against the Mariners starting Monday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Burleson is rehabbing from right wrist inflammation that caused him to be placed on the 10-day IL in late August. He's increased his baseball activities over the past few days, and it appears the 26-year-old outfielder will not need a rehab assignment and join the Cardinals in Seattle early next week.
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Cardinals' Nolan Arenado: Aiming for Sept. 15 return
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Arenado (shoulder) expects to begin a rehab assignment next week and return from the 10-day injured list Sept. 15 for the start of the Cardinals' homestand, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Arenado has been rehabbing a right shoulder strain at the team's spring training complex and is nearly ready to play in rehab games, likely at Double-A Springfield. Barring any setbacks, Arenado is expected back for the beginning of the Cardinals' final homestand of the season.
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Cardinals' Cesar Prieto: Optioned to Triple-A
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The Cardinals optioned Prieto to Triple-A Memphis on Friday.
Prieto went 1-for-6 with five strikeouts during his first cup of coffee in the majors. He could get another opportunity before the end of this month but will head back to Memphis for now.
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Cardinals' Yohel Pozo: Reinstated from concussion IL
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The Cardinals activated Pozo (concussion) from the 7-day injured list Friday.
Pozo missed the past week of action after experiencing concussion symptoms following a foul tip to his catcher's mask. He's bypassing a rehab assignment and going directly back onto the active roster. Pozo has some limited experience at first base and could see playing time there while Willson Contreras serves a four-game suspension.
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Cardinals' Deniel Ortiz: Mashing for Peoria
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Ortiz is slashing .340/.443/.515 with three home runs, seven steals, a 13.9 percent walk rate and a 23 percent strikeout rate in 28 games for High-A Peoria.
Ortiz, who has split time between third base and first base for Peoria, was promoted to the Midwest League on July 29 after slashing .285/.406/.446 with 10 home runs, 31 steals and a 27.5 percent strikeout rate in 77 games for Single-A Palm Beach. A 16th-round pick in 2024 out of community college, Ortiz is benefitting from a .444 BABIP at High-A, but he also has a 27 percent line drive rate and a 44.6 percent flyball rate, so his batted-ball profile is ideal. Despite his stolen base totals, the righty-hitting Ortiz is listed at 6-foot-1, 230 pounds and grades as a below-average runner, so it will need to be his bat that carries him.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Suspension reduced to four games
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Contreras' suspension for his actions in the Cardinals' Aug. 25 games versus the Pirates has been reduced from six games to four games and he will begin serving the suspension Friday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Contreras was tossed from the game after arguing about the strike zone and then tossed his bat in the direction of the home-plate umpire, striking hitting coach Brant Brown instead. He'll sit out the weekend series against the Giants and the first game of next week's series versus the Mariners before being reinstated Tuesday. With Contreras unavailable and Alec Burleson (wrist) on the 10-day injured list, the Cardinals don't have a traditional first baseman on the active roster. The club could elect to shift Nolan Gorman to first base and play Cesar Prieto or Jose Fermin at third base for the next four contests.
Rodriguez was promoted from Single-A Palm Beach to High-A Peoria on Thursday.
Rodriguez has demolished Florida Complex League and Florida State League pitching thus far, slashing .275/.405/.567 with 20 home runs and a 63:54 K:BB over 80 games covering the two stops. The 18-year-old will now get his feet wet in the Midwest League before Peoria's season concludes Sunday. Rodriguez has established himself as one of the best young power-hitting prospects in baseball.
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Cardinals' Liam Doyle: Set for pro debut Saturday
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Doyle will make his professional debut Saturday with Single-A Palm Beach, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The fifth overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft, Doyle has been working out with the Cardinals' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate over the past month and will now throw around two innings Saturday in his first official game in the professional ranks. Palm Beach's season concludes Sunday, so it could be Doyle's lone appearance this season after he threw 95.2 innings for the University of Tennessee in the spring. Doyle could be assigned to High-A Peoria or Double-A Springfield at the start of next season.
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Cardinals' Riley O'Brien: Could be available this weekend
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The Cardinals are hopeful O'Brien (shoulder) will be available to pitch Friday against the Giants, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
O'Brien hasn't pitched in a week due to lingering right shoulder soreness, but he played catch earlier this week and could be cleared for game action after the team's off day Thursday. The 30-year-old collected two saves and three holds in August and boasts a 1.69 ERA and 35:17 K:BB over 37.1 innings this season.
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Cardinals' Nolan Gorman: Homers among three hits
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Gorman went 3-for-3 with a solo home run in a 5-1 win against the Athletics on Wednesday.
Gorman singled in his first two plate appearances before launching a 381-foot solo homer in the seventh inning. The infielder snapped an 11-game stretch without a multi-hit performance, and he had batted a paltry .135 (5-for-37) during that span. Gorman isn't lighting the world on fire with a .726 OPS on the campaign, but he has offered a bit of pop with 14 homers and 44 RBI across 338 plate appearances.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Plates four runs Wednesday
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Contreras went 3-for-4 with a triple and four RBI in Wednesday's 5-1 win against the Athletics.
Contreras plated St. Louis' first two runs with a single in the third inning. He capped the Cardinals' scoring in the contest with a two-run triple in the eighth. Contreras finished with his first multi-hit game over his past 10 contests, and his four RBI on Wednesday were as many as he'd recorded during that 10-game stretch. Contreras is up to 78 RBI on the campaign, establishing a new career-high mark.
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Cardinals' JoJo Romero: Picks up another save
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Romero earned a save against the Athletics on Wednesday, allowing two hits while striking out one batter over 1.2 scoreless innings.
Romero entered with one out in the top of the eighth frame when St. Louis led by two runs. He allowed a single to the first batter he faced before retiring the next two hitters. Romero then returned for the ninth and gave up a leadoff single, but that was quickly wiped out on a double play. Romero subsequently wrapped things up to finish with his seventh save of the season, four of which have been longer than an inning in length. With Riley O'Brien (shoulder) currently on the shelf, Romero is the clear top option for save chances for the Cardinals.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Snaps winless stretch Wednesday
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Liberatore (7-11) earned the win over the Athletics on Wednesday, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over 5.1 scoreless innings.
Liberatore came into Wednesday with no victories over his past nine starts. He snapped that winless stretch in impressive fashion against the A's, recording his first scoreless outing since June 29. The southpaw also notched seven punchouts, his most since he struck out eight Pirates on May 6. Liberatore still hasn't completed six frames since that June 29 start, however, which was also the date of his most recent win prior to Wednesday.
Church is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics.
After starting in each of the last five games, the left-handed-hitting Church will head to the bench while southpaw Jeffrey Springs toes the rubber for the Athletics. Church is slashing just .154/.227/.256 in 46 plate appearances since getting called up from Triple-A Memphis on Aug. 17, and his playing time could tail off in September after the Cardinals reinstated Victor Scott from the injured list earlier this week.
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Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt: Unlikely to be promoted this season
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The Cardinals are unlikely to promote Wetherholt from Triple-A Memphis this season, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Wetherholt has established himself as one of the best prospects in baseball, having slashed .312/.424/.523 with 16 home runs, 21 stolen bases and a 66:65 K:BB over 99 games between Double-A Springfield and Memphis. While the 22-year-old looks ready to be challenged in the majors, Goold notes that the driving factor in keeping Wetherholt at Memphis is that he does not need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason in order to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft, and the Cardinals want to reserve those spots for players that are Rule 5 eligible. Even without a cup of coffee in the big leagues in 2025, Wetherholt still stands a chance of cracking the Opening Day roster in 2026. Wetherholt has mostly played shortstop in the minors, but he's also seen time at second and third base, and with Masyn Winn holding down shortstop for the Cardinals, Wetherholt's future is likely either at the keystone or the hot corner.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Hopes to take batting practice soon
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Burleson hopes to take batting practice in the coming days after an anti-inflammatory injection alleviated discomfort in his injured right wrist, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
If Burleson is able to take batting practice soon, he could avoid a rehab assignment and be activated from the 10-day injured list when first eligible Sept. 8. Burleson is second only to Ivan Herrera on the Cardinals with a wRC+ of 120 this season.
Cardinals' Ivan Herrera: Smacks two-run homer in victory
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Herrera went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Athletics.
That's now two homers in as many days to open the month of September for Herrera, who has three long balls in his past five outings. The 25-year-old backstop also has an active eight-game hitting streak, during which he's batting .375 with six RBI and five runs scored. Herrera's OPS sits at a career-best .818 for the campaign as well.
